State and Public officers are set to receive a salary increment following a review by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) effective 1st July 2023.
In the latest review, SRC said the salary increment of between 7pc to 10pc will be spread across a two-year period, inclusive of the existing notch increase, which averages 3pc annually.
In the new review, the Teachers Service Commission received the lion’s share of the Ksh 21.7 billion that the National Treasury allocated to SRC for FY 2023/24.
Teachers got 44pc of the budget followed by the security sector at 20.9pc and County Governments were allocated 18.8pc.
Another 8.5pc was set aside for the civil service, 4.3pc to state officers and 3.4pc allocated to other public officers.
SRC commenced the streamlining of allowances in 2021 to ensure affordability and fiscal sustainability of the wage bill in the public service.
Implemented during the last Financial Year, SRC scraped three allowances; Plenary Sitting Allowances and Ministerial Allowance and the Taxable Car Allowance that resulted in a total cost saving saving of Ksh 1.7 billion and Ksh 9.7 billion respectively.
In phase two, The commission has also scrapped Retreat Allowances, Sitting Allowances for Institutional Internal Committees, Taskforce Allowances for Institutional Internal Committees and Daily Subsistence Allowances.
The commission said there will be an upward adjustment of remuneration in the only gross salaries of public service institution that is below the 50th percentile will be reviewed.
Speaking on Wednesday, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u said there should be no problem in adjusting the wage bill when the country has a robust and performing economy.
He said the salary structure is dependent on 50pc of tax revenue.
“We have to grow the tax revenue for it to cater for salaries and the reward structure,” he said.
Salary and Remuneration Commission Chairperson Lynn Mengich said there is need to improve labour productivity to drive economic growth in Kenya which will result to a higher revenue and improve wage bill to revenue ratio of 35pc.
Sally Namuye
